Category Archives: Uncategorized

Medical Sales Mistakes: Brief Encounters with Health Care Clinicians and Decision Makers—To Sell or Not to Sell?

What do you do when you have a chance encounter with a physician, nurse, materials manager, CEO, or any other health care decision-maker…do you go for the short, abbreviated sales presentation (e.g. the scrub sink sale), or do you wait for a better time.  I have done it both ways and I have worked with sales forces who have done it both ways and one way is almost always more advantageous.  In this podcast I recommend what works best in most situations, but of course, the final decision is up to you.  You may only have one opportunity—Decide well!

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A Tale of Two Medical Sales Reps

Are you confident about the stability of the business in your territory because you have been in that territory for years?  Don’t be! There is either a new sales rep or an old sales rep with a renewed focus ready to take that business. In this podcast, I share the story of two different sales reps that I rode along with recently and what I learned is critical to the business you currently enjoy and the business you hope to win in the future.  Take 10 minutes and see if you are more like Glenn, or more like Donna and you’ll have an idea as to what your future in medical sales looks like and how to change it if necessary.

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An Unwanted Title in Medical Sales — The Professional Visitor

Do you ever visit customers just to “check-in” ?  What a colossal waste of your time and theirs!  If you don’t have a purpose for the call…I mean a real purpose…that serves you, your company, the customer and the patient…then don’t make the call.  But I’m going to help you avoid that situation with a simple question that I offer up in this podcast.  After you listen, let me know how you avoid being “The Professional Visitor” by clicking on either “comments” or “no comments” in the box below and sharing with the world at  https://medicalsalesguru.com .

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Healthcare Selling: Getting attention in the C-suite and other non-clinical departments even when your product or service is not a significant institutional expense

Maybe you sell to the C-suite and maybe you don’t.  If you don’t, maybe you should. But how do you get past the reception desk to discuss business with the CEO, CFO and others in the ivory towers of an institution.  In this episode of the Medical Sales Guru Podcast, I provide some things to think about that will help you to get the attention of the C-suite and almost any other decision-makers you should be talking to.

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Using Email in Medical Sales…Good Idea or Bad Idea?

There are more and more medical sales professionals gravitating to email as a sales tool.  Sure there are many benefits, but there are downsides as well. In this edition of the Medical Sales Guru Podcast, I discuss how some sales representatives use email as a way to create a sale and why it doesn’t work.  Are you guilty of misusing email in your medical sales efforts?

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Medical Sales and Social Media — Don’t Shoot Yourself in the Wallet!

Facebook, LinkedIn and a host of other social media sites are now a part of every day life.  Almost everyone has a page on one of these sites and the postings, for the most part, are fairly benign.  However, in this edition of The Medical Sales Guru Podcast, I discuss how a recent applicant for a medical sales job blew her chances with her postings on one of these sites.  Could posting things about yourself on the Internet hurt your medical sales career?  The answer is yes.  Listen to the podcast and make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

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Create a Medical Sales Plan Now to Prepare for the Uncertainty in 2011 and Beyond…Before the S#*t Hits the Fan!

Most medical sales reps don’t even think about sales planning until a manager points a proverbial gun at their head and says, “I need next year’s sales plan by Friday!”  Strange, that the most important activity that can save your business, put money in your pocket, and save your job has to be mandated under a management-imposed deadline.  Medical sales professionals need to be fine-tuning their sales plan constantly and it has never been more critical than it is now.  Why?  Because we’re going to see many changes in the healthcare system and how products and services are purchased.  You need to be prepared.   So…how do you prepare for all the changes when you don’t even know what they are?

In this podcast, I provide an example of how ignoring threatened change cost me over $1 million in business during a time when change was less certain than it is NOW.  I also discuss how to prepare for the uncertainty ahead  by heeding the lessons of a famous event where disaster was averted two years ago.  Okay, you don’t have a crystal ball, but you can still prepare for the future and optimize your chances for success before the proverbial you-know-what hits the fan.

If you don’t have a detailed sales plan that includes a sales process for your medical sales efforts next week, next month, next year…you’re not fully in the game.  Watch out for those who are!

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Building Relationships in Medical Sales–Stop Focusing on the Wrong Things!

Most sales reps would agree that relationships are important in medical sales.  Some even go so far as to say that relationships are everything.  I agree that relationships are important, but I have found that many sales reps, especially new medical sales reps, have a distorted view as to what constitutes a good relationship and how to go about creating one.  In this edition of The Medical Sales Guru Podcast, I attempt to dispel some perceptions that lead to counterproductive “bad behavior” when trying to build relationships and what I believe are the keys to creating constructive professional relationships with healthcare customers that support one’s sales efforts.

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An Effective Tactic for Dealing with Delicate Confrontational Situations in Medical Sales

Have you ever had a customer say something about you or your product that isn’t true?  Maybe it’s even slanderous or bordering on slander.  Or perhaps the customer informs you that if you don’t lower your pricing, you’re going to lose the business.  You’re used to dealing with difficult situations and you’re ready to charge in and address the issue head-on.  Stop!  Confronting customers on delicate situations is a high-wire act–one wrong move and you’re on the ground with that customer, maybe forever.  There is an effective way to confront customers on situations where they may not be pleased with the message.  It worked very well for me throughout my medical sales career and I advise you to stop and consider it before you erase any opportunities to ever do business with valued customers again.

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The “New Normal” in Healthcare Sales: Patients Matter, But It’s a Business

As Marshall Goldsmith says, “what got you here, won’t get you there.” The ways that the health care industry buys goods and services are changing, and you can either thrive on the new opportunities or get crushed while waiting for things to return to “normal.” In this episode of The Medical Sales Guru Podcast, Mace Horoff discusses the results of a recent physician practice survey along with the obvious ramifications. Included are some suggestions on how to adapt your medical sales business and selling approach if you plan on continuing in this profession. If it seems like common sense, then why haven’t more medical sales professionals adapted yet?

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